European banks, still nursing their wounds from the continent's financial crisis, are starting to look for opportunities to expand internationally through acquisitions.

Bank executives in Spain and Italy, two of the countries hit hardest by Europe's economic woes, say they are scouting for potential targets abroad. And in France, central bank officials have suggested privately that lenders look at possible acquisitions in Southern Europe, according to a person familiar with the Bank of France's thinking.

The desire for deals speaks to the cautious optimism sprouting up in corners of the continent's banking industry after several awful years, as well as a search for fresh sources of growth as new regulations crimp profits. If this trend materializes, it could help alleviate one of the euro zone's biggest problems: the retreat during the recent debt crisis of many financial institutions to their home countries, leaving parts of Europe starved for foreign financing.

Most of the deal talk appears to be at an early stage and won't necessarily culminate in actual transactions. And nobody is expecting a wave of megamergers, partly because investors and regulators increasingly frown upon big banks getting bigger.

"There is unlikely to be large-scale M&A like precrisis," said Philippe Bodereau, the head of European credit research at Pimco in London. "Big is not fashionable anymore."

In any case, little activity is expected to transpire until after the European Central Bank wraps up its exams of the continent's largest lenders later this year because banks are waiting for the all-clear from regulators before pursuing any expansion efforts.

At the turn of the century, many policy makers and industry officials anticipated that Europe's increasing financial integration would incite a wave of cross-border banking mergers, boosting industry profits and driving down costs for customers.

That wave never formed. Of the handful of large deals that did happen, some turned out to be disasters. Most notable was the sale of Dutch lender ABN Amro to banks including Royal Bank of Scotland, Fortis and Banco Santander, today widely regarded as one of the worst corporate acquisitions of all time due to the losses that it spread across Europe's financial system.

Santander Chairman Emilio Botín told reporters last week that he would consider buying a commercial bank in the US, where the Spanish lender already has a major presence in the Northeast. Santander has been one of the few European banks to have continued making small acquisitions during the financial crisis, focusing on countries such as Poland.

A Santander spokeswoman said that any growth in the US—through acquisitions or otherwise—would be within the bank's current northeastern stronghold.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria —Spain's No. 2 bank, after Santander—recently held talks about trying to buy midsize Chilean lender CorpBanca, according to people familiar with the talks. BBVA lost out, though, and a Brazilian bank agreed to buy CorpBanca last week.

Like Santander, BBVA executives have also been eyeing acquisition opportunities in the US, according to a person familiar with the bank's strategy. BBVA already boasts a large branch network in the southern US with its BBVA Compass franchise and is looking to expand, this person said.

A BBVA spokesman declined to comment.

In Italy, executives at Intesa Sanpaolo recently looked at the possibility of buying specific banks in Turkey and Poland, according to a person familiar with the bank's strategy. The bank, Italy's No. 2 by assets, is eager to expand the share of its business generated outside Italy, where loan defaults are rising and growth prospects are bleak, this person said.

Intesa last year explored the possibility of large acquisitions in Germany, said people familiar with the bank's strategy. But the bank's interest there appears to have waned following a change in top management last fall, these people said.

Some Polish banks, meanwhile, are angling to expand in neighboring countries. The country's largest lender by assets, PKO Bank Polski is interested in buying banks outside Poland, said Jakub Papierski, a member of PKO's management board, in an interview last week.

In France, two of the largest banks, Credit Agricole and Société Générale only recently extricated themselves from unprofitable operations in Greece. Since then, Bank of France officials have suggested that the country's lenders look at possible acquisition opportunities in Southern European countries such as Portugal, according to the person familiar with the central bank's thinking.

A Bank of France spokeswoman said the central bank isn't encouraging French banks to look at acquisitions in southern Europe.

The person familiar with the Bank of France's thinking said officials have told industry executives that such deals not only could make business sense but also would help reverse the trend of Europe's financial institutions withdrawing into their home countries during the crisis.